Street-semaphore



J. M. WALSH.

STREET SEMAPHORE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. 1919.

1,384,365. n d u1y12,1921.

' A Hl\ WITNESS IN V EN TOR M I cfohn M. Wa/sh BYWK, W

% ATTORNEYS JOHN M. WALSH, OF PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA.

STREET-SEMAIPHORE.

Application filed April 16, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I JOHN M. WALSH, a citizen of the United tates, and a resident of Petaluma, county of Sonoma, State of California, have invented a new and useful Street-Semaphore, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to street slgnals for the guidance and regulation of traffic.

An object of my invention is to provlde a portable semaphore for the directlon of traffic which may be placed upon the pavement of the street at the desired location and which may be moved out of the way during the rain, or at other times when desired.

' Another object of my invention is to provide a semaphore yieldingly held So that when struck accidentally it gives way, but immediately after the contact reassumes its first position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a semaphore of the character described which is nearly indestructible and certain of proper operation under all conditions which may surround its use.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of my invention which'is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to beunderstood that I do not limit myself to the showing made by the said drawings and description as I may adopt variations of the preferred form with- 1n the scope of my invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 I is a vertical sectional view through my semaphore.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken in the plane 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevation on a smaller scale of the semaphore. I

My complete semaphore consists of a signal supported upon a standard, the standard being yieldingly held in an upright position upon a broad base. I

My semaphore is mounted upon a flat base plate 6 preferably circular in form and with rounded thin edges. weight and diameter to give stability to the semaphore and short pointed projections 7 are formed upon the underside of the base to prevent'side slipping when the apparatus is struck by a vehicle.

Specification of Letters Patent.

The base is of suflicient Patented July 12, 1921. Serial No. 290,527.

Upon the base plate rests the ball 8 which carries the hollow standard 9 upon which the signal 11 is mounted. The ball is preferably of solid metal and quite heavy, and is flat on one side, leaving a lug 12 projecting therefrom. The flattened area of the ball rests upon the base plate, the lug 12 projecting into a conically formed recess 13 in the center of the base. The relative shapes and sizes of the lug and recess are such that if the ball is tipped over upon its side by contact with a vehicle, in the recovery movement the lug engages the sides of the aperture and insures a proper seating of the ball in the position shown in Fig. 1. The lug also serves to prevent lateral displacement of the ball upon the base.

Means are provided for insuring the recovery movement of the ball and standard to an upright position after being displaced therefrom by being struck for any reason by a passing vehicle or animal.

rranged in the hollow standard 9 is a coil spring 14 confined between the shoulder 16 formed at the bottom of the socket in which the standard 9 is held, and a plate 17 adjustably held upon the tension rod 18 by the nut 19. The tension rod extends through the spring to a' point near the shoulder 16, where it connects to a chain 21 the other end of which is secured to an eye bolt 22 seated in the bottom face of the base 6. The spring is under compression which is increased by tipping of the ball, and it therefore quickly returns the ball and standard to upright position after they have been knocked over.

Rotatably arranged on the hollow standard above the ball is a signal comprising a cylindrical casing 11. The lower end of the casing is reduced in diameter to seat about the standard immediately above the ball and the upper end is'provided with a threaded cover plate 24 apertured at its center to surround the standard. A cap 26 threaded to the standard, retains the casing 11 upon the standard. Preferably the signal casing is rotatable upon the standard so that when the semaphore is struck a glancing blow, it Will turn in the direction of the blow.

he casing is apertured at various points in its lateral wall and red, light reflecting devices 27 mounted on the ends of resilient flat strips 28 secured to the inside of the casing, extend through the apertures. The resilient mounting of the reflectors permits them to be pressed backwardly within the casing, if struck, so that injury is avoided.

Upon the outside of the signal casing directions to guide the fi-ow of traffic are prominently arranged. Fig. 3 shows a semaphore upon whlch the words to right appear in a vertical line on the casing. Such Words areprinted in large characters and appear at intervals about the casing so that they are always visible to the drivers of approaching vehicles.

I claim:

-1.A semaphore for street trafiic having a fiat base, a ball tiltable upon the base, a rigid hollow standard secured in and extending up from the ball, a spring in said standard seated in said ball, and means connected to the base for holding it upon the seat in the ball and operative to further compress the spring when the standard is tilted with the ball so that the standard is normally maintained upright.

2. A sema bore for street traffic having a fiat base wit a central socket, a ball tiltable upon the base and having a lug matching in the recess, a rigid hollow standard secured in and extending up from the ball, a

spring compressed in said standard, and

the ball so that the standard is normally maintained upright. r

3. A semaphore for street traffic having a base with a central aperture and recess, a ball having a flat face seatingon the base and havin a centering lug entering the recess, a hol ow standard extending from the ball, a flexible device in the aperture of the base-and passing through the ball and into the standard, a rod attached to said device and having a plate slidably fitting the standard, and a spring seated in the balland compressed in the standard between the plate and said ball by said device and rod to maintain the standard upright and the ball seated flat on the base.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Petaluma, California, this 7th day of April, 1919.

- JOHN M. WALSH.

In presence ofe W. T. MOONEY,

0U SMITH FEVILLEA. 

